Box Score 
Dakota Donovan '15 crosses the ball against Tufts on Sept. 6, 2014. (David Graves)
SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Bates College women's soccer fell to Tufts University, 6-0, in the NESCAC opener for both teams at Kraft Field on Saturday afternoon.
Five different players scored for the Jumbos (1-0-0, 1-0-0 NESCAC) in the team's season opener. The hosts took a 4-0 lead over the Bobcats (1-1-0, 0-1-0 NESCAC) into halftime and scored their final goal in the 58th minute.
The Jumbos beat the Bobcats for the first time since 2010. Bates had won two of the previous three meetings with the two teams playing to a draw in 2012.
Nikki Blank started the scoring for the Jumbos in the 18th minute, capitalizing on a rebound opportunity. Allie Weiller found the back of the net just over 12 minutes later, redirecting a cross from Mariah Harvey-Brown – the first of three assists for Harvey-Brown in the contest.
In the 36th minute, Catherine Greer pushed Tufts' lead to 3-0 with a goal off a free kick. Brooke Fortin gave the hosts a 4-0 advantage in the 42nd minute off Harvey-Brown's second assist.
A header from Bates sophomore Maggie Coco (Avon, Conn.) required a save in the 51st minute, but Tufts responded in the 52nd with a tally from Sarah Pykkonen off a feed from Harvey-Brown. Fortin registered her second goal of the game in the 58th minute to round out the scoring for Tufts.
The Bobcats mounted an attack later in the game with sophomore Hannah Graves (Weston, Mass.) taking two shots and senior Dakota Donovan (Marblehead, Mass.) another between the 60th and 64th minutes. A shot from Graves in the 79th minute came two minutes before consecutive attempts from junior Leah Humes (Beaconsfield, Quebec) and first-year Julia Rosen (Springfield, Ill.).
Tufts goalie Eileen McGarry (1-0-0) made four saves in the shutout. For Bates, first-year Allegra Sacco (Medway, Mass.) made two saves in the loss (0-1-0) while classmate Sarah McCarthy (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) stopped three shots in the second half.
Next, Bates hosts the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday at 4 p.m. while Tufts hosts MIT on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
